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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. scale — size or range
  4. land — to come down
  5. object — to protest
  6. scale — in music
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a music group
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. clip — a video
  12. band — a ring
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. land — ground
  15. land — a country
  16. clip — to cut
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. press — newspapers
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. clip — for paper
  21. object — an aim
  22. press — to push
  23. press — a publisher
  24. object — a thing

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com